Retribution
by Chibi Chidori
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto are partners. Their mission is to live on Earth and write a report based on their findings, deciding the fate of the world. But there are two rules angels must never break, one punishable by death. Regardless, they find themselves falling into a forbidden affair. SasuNaru. Loosely based on Kouga Yun's Earthian.


_Retribution_

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or Earthian. But if you guys have never read Earthian (by Kouga Yun), I recommend you to go read it right now. It's an amazing story.

**Summary:** Their mission is to live on Earth as humans and write a report based on their findings, the outcome of the reports determining the fate of the Earth. There are two rules angels must not break; 1) You must not expose your wings to 3 different humans and 2) Homosexual love is a sin punishable by death. Sasuke and Naruto are partners, and this is their story. Loosely based on Earthian by Kouga Yun.

**Content Disclosure:** A Sasuke x Naruto pairing; if this couple is not your cup of tea, please hit the back button.

**Note: **This is not a crossover fic, as the only characters from Earthian being used are some of the archangels. Chihaya and Kagetsuya are briefly mentioned, but there is no actual crossover whatsoever. On a note (in case this confuses you) Earthians are humans. Thanks to **Riuolo** for doing an awesome job as my beta!

**~0~**

**Chapter 01 ~ Year One; Foundation**

_Foundation (n) – the basis or groundwork of anything_

**~0~**

**E**merald eyes looked upon the crowd of people passing the café he was sitting at before he looked down at his cup of coffee and took a sip. He twirled a pen between his left fingers with skill, his other hand holding up his chin as he hummed in thought. The paper underneath his hand had one question that was giving him trouble. That one sentence was mocking him, standing out in bold fine print, centered on the bleached paper. "Have you ever met someone who completely changed your life?" Suddenly he smiled as a thought – a memory – came to his head and he wrote down a question of his own.

_Do you believe in angels?_

**~0~**

**O**n the planet of Eden, distant from the angel's home planet Valhalla, is where all the soldier workers are posted and live for a majority of their lifespan. Many angels are born on Valhalla, however very few parts of the planet are habited as many travel to Eden for work opportunities.

Out of the many working angels, there are working soldiers who monitor another distant planet – Earth – which is similar to their home planet Valhalla. Pairs of angels, one who counts the positive traits of the humans – called a plus worker – and another who counts the negative traits – a minus worker – live on the Earth among the humans, Earthians, and monitor them for a period of time. They report on the situations they experience and send it back to Eden for review. If the humans gather over 10,000 negative points, the angels of Eden will descend upon Earth to eradicate the human species to leave room for the next, hopefully less destructive species to arise.

Many years ago, Eden decided to seize the Earth premature to the 10,000 points. However, two angels – Kagetsuya and Chihaya – decided to save the Earth, allying themselves with a small group of Angel-Earthian half breeds who called themselves, "The Black Angels." During this time, the only 'natural' black angel that existed was Chihaya, the plus worker of the pair, and he was branded an outast. The other black angels that existed were Lucifers, fallen angels – angels that attracted a disease called the black cancer. It was a disease that turned their pure white wings black and those who went through this change died shortly after. Other angels feared Chihaya because of this; they feared his resemblance to a Lucifer and feared that they may extract the disease from him. Kagetsuya accepted his partner's difference and soon the two found themselves falling in love. The pair managed to save the Earth and soon Eden and Valhalla witnessed the birth of black angels, like Chihaya, who had immunity to the black cancer and were far stronger in supernatural abilities than their white counterparts; Chihaya was the first of his kind. He and Kagetsuya disappeared on Earth and rumors surfaced that the two died a peaceful death together. Presently, there are two generations of angels left; their parents, a mix of white and black, and the new generation which consists of all black angels except one; Naruto.

It is interesting how history seems to repeat itself.

**~0~**

**A**rchangel Minato looked out the window of his estate, giving a heavy sigh. The stress of the work that came with his obtained job was overwhelming, but could he have honestly expected anything less? His status was that of one of the supreme archangel lords, the leader of all plus workers, a job that was given to him after the death of great Archangel Lord Seraphim. Despite all this, his mind wandered on other things, focusing mostly on his recently graduated son. A soft knock sounded at the door and he gave another sigh before giving the outsider permission to enter.

"Hey, dad. You called for me?" came a voice as the door opened. Minato turned from the window to look at his beautiful son, blessed with golden blond hair, blue eyes as clear as the sky and a tanned complexion that looked like it was kissed by the sun.

"Yes. Come in, Naruto. And shut the door behind you." The said male obediently listened and approached the desk where his father sat. "You are here because I need to talk to you about your choice of career. I'm going to ask again, are you sure about this?"

Naruto firmly nodded, the determination not fading from his eyes.

"It's the most certain I have ever been in my years of living. This is what I want to do." He watched as his father sighed, looking a little sad, almost. He felt a slight pang in his heart and quickly added, "But don't worry, I'll make sure to visit during the holidays!"

Minato gave a little chuckle; his little boy had finally grown up. He was even looking out for the well-being of his father, not that he hadn't before. His son was a kind child who put everyone else's well-being before his own. It was as much of a weakness as it was a strength.

"Alright then. I, Archangel Minato, leader of all plus working soldiers, appoint thee, Naruto, as a new plus soldier. Please report to the graduation ceremony later this afternoon to receive your assigned partner and the necessary materials to jump to Earth." He watched as his son bowed and left, already growing lonely as the door shut behind him. He looked back out the window to see a massive crowd of black angels heading towards central plaza for the graduation ceremony.

"Kushina, our little boy has grown into a fine man to be proud of. Are you watching over him, dear?"

**~B~**

**T**he hallway buzzed with excitement as the graduates slowly filtered into the room. The ceremony had just ended and the angels began to divide themselves, separating according to their job occupations. Blue eyes looked at the mass of people and followed the signs for working soldier angels diligently. His heart was racing in excitement, not because of his recently acquired graduation status, but at the prospect of being partnered with another angel who might become a lifelong friend.

Despite having a mix of black and white parents, the youngest generation showed great hostility whenever things involved Naruto. Many believed that he might have been a genetic dysfunction – an angel of the newest generation failing to receive the genes necessary to battle the black cancer and therefore being 'inferior.' Needless to say, Naruto had a somewhat lonely childhood.

As he stepped into the room, he saw a crowd of angels before a wall that posted their rankings on the soldier exam and their assigned partner. But there seemed to be a commotion for a different reason.

"Eh, he got paired with _him_? That's not fair!"

"He probably used his father's influence to get paired up with him."

"I don't know, guys…He _was _the valedictorian – you can't cheat that." At this, Naruto was taken aback. They were talking about him? Apparently, he was partnered with someone everyone else wanted to be with, though he did get quite annoyed whenever everyone pulled the "Daddy's influence" card. All of his accomplishments were solely his own, thank you very much!

"Who am I partnered with?" he calmly asked, watching as the three angels before him turned around so quickly his own neck hurt with pain. He could see the alarmed look in their eyes, like a child caught stealing from the cookie jar before dinner.

"Naruto, I didn't hear you come in!" The blond took note that this was the same person who had said he used his dad's influence to get paired up with mystery man.

"Huh, I suppose you wouldn't have considering all the noise you were making before. Now, who am I partnered with again?" Blue eyes followed a finger as the other angel pointed at the paper towards the top left corner.

_Rank 1) Naruto (Plus Worker) – Partnered with Rank 2) Sasuke (Minus Worker)_

Naruto stared blank-eyed at the large paper on the wall before him; this had to be some sort of mistake. Sullenly, he realized that this was no mistake; it was common for the valedictorian and the salutatorian to be paired together, especially if they were opposite workers. And Sasuke was an exceptional student – not only was he from an elite angel family, like himself, but he was the epitome of an ideal black angel; handsome with his porcelain skin and dark hair, intelligent, healthy, and extremely talented in his unique supernatural abilities. Too bad it was this same being that tormented Naruto all throughout angel-training. The bullying made him miserable to the point where Naruto seriously considered being a minus-worker to avoid the chance of being paired with him, but the blond loved Earth too much to work against it.

He gave a sigh, shoulders slumping as his good mood plummeted. "Great…"

"Looking forward to working with you, too, idiot," a deep voice said from behind him. Naruto's brow twitched, not needing to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. He shifted sideways to greet the other angel.

"Ah, Sasuke, didn't see you there. But I'm not an idiot, you know; I _did _beat you in the soldier exams," he said with a smirk, rubbing in all he could before Sasuke replied with one of his ego-damaging remarks that he was well-known for.

"Just because you ranked higher doesn't mean you're not an idiot. I don't know any other angel who walks into doors–"

"Hey, that was one time! And I was reading!"

"And _talks _to his textbooks." Naruto flustered at this. So what if he talked to himself once in a while? He happened to like studying at the library and reading aloud. Apparently, Sasuke viewed that as strange.

"Can't you be a little nicer to me? I mean, we are going to be partners from now on…" he trailed off, knowing what the black-haired angel's answer was going to be. But might as well give it a shot, right?

Sasuke smirked. "Not a chance. I hate idiots. Now hurry up, we need to make our jump soon." And with a wave of his hand, blue eyes watched him walk out the door. Naruto sulked in place as the room started to empty out before dragging himself towards his home to gather his stuff for his jump to Earth.

'I should've tried to get a lower ranking,' Naruto thought to himself before sighing for the umpteenth time.

Life after graduation wasn't exactly how he pictured it to be.

**~I~**

**C**almly, he put a hand to his head as his feet came into contact with solid ground and grasped for the hand-rail he conveniently landed near. Jumping in one breath from Eden to Earth was not as easy as he thought.

"Hey, you okay, moron?" Blue eyes looked to the speaker, but he didn't have the energy to glare. Sasuke looked a little worse for wear and Naruto couldn't help but gloat a little on the inside; hey, at least he wasn't the only one feeling miserable.

"You know, Sasuke, adding an insult to the end kind of negates the whole point of the question." Immediately he regretted his little remark as he saw the other steel up and look away. Had he been actually concerned?

"I'm just asking. It'd look and be bad for me if my partner suddenly collapses," Sasuke snapped, obviously annoyed. The blond stayed silent, his curiosity immediately dissipating. Of course Sasuke wasn't concerned. Who was he kidding?

He gripped onto the metal railing for a few more minutes as his breathing evened out before standing up to meet the black angel's eyes. "Alright, I'm good now," he said calmly.

Sasuke nodded. "Good. I think it was a little harsh for first timers to jump from Eden to Earth in one breath, but practice makes perfect, right? We did get here in one piece." He looked as the blond nodded wearily, before walking away prompting for the other to follow with a motion of his head.

"Don't worry about it, idiot. We'll get better. For now, let's find a place to stay and then go shopping for food."

At this, Naruto's ears perked and his nausea disappeared. "Food? Are we going to eat out?" he asked eagerly. Sasuke scoffed, a smirk appearing on his face and the previous steeled exterior softened.

"Do you have anything you dislike?" he asked. Naruto bit back the reason to ask why, thinking that his partner would probably order all the things he hated, but answered anyhow.

"I really don't have anything I dislike. I eat anything. But for preference, I really like the Japanese-styled ramen!"

Sasuke made a rather sour, disgusted face. "Ramen is unhealthy. It has too much sodium."

"I never said I eat it all the time! I just said that I really like it." The blond pouted, not enjoying how the other belittled his favorite food. Sasuke gave a weary look at Naruto before sighing and continuing to walk in an aimless direction towards the city.

"Fine, fine. I'll make it for lunch today, but for dinner we're going to have something–"

"Wow, Sasuke, you cook?" Naruto asked, sincerely surprised. The black-angel was from a prestigious family, just like he was. Not to say that Naruto hadn't had his fair share of experiences in the kitchen, but by no means did he know how to actually cook a meal.

Sasuke gave him a look. "Of course I do. It's a hobby of mine. And think for a minute, we can't eat out all the time, can we?" Naruto smiled sheepishly at this. Actually, he thought that was what was going to happen.

"Hurry up. Before we eat, we need to find a place to stay." Naruto was drawn out of his thoughts to see Sasuke already a couple of feet ahead of him.

"Hey, wait up!" Running up to his partner, Naruto took the time to look around at the place they landed in. The two chose to travel to Japan for their first destination. Naruto wished to go because he read about all the gorgeous sakura trees and apparently this was the time they were in bloom. Sasuke only followed Naruto, but it also helped that he looked like a Japanese human.

They made their way into the city and Naruto was in awe. He felt like a child on Christmas; the city of Tokyo was all he read and more! There were lights that were blinding and people everywhere! He looked around quickly, trying to take in as much of the scenery as he could.

"Hey, idiot, close your mouth before a bug flies in." Naruto quickly shut his mouth before turning to Sasuke with a glare.

"You always ruin my fun, bastard." He watched the black angel smirk before turning back to the path.

"There's no fun in observing humans, anyway." Naruto carefully watched Sasuke, unconsciously moving closer to his partner.

"Sasuke, why do you dislike the Earthians so much?" Sasuke looked at him, his mouth firm before looking ahead once again.

"What's there to like?" he countered. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and walked in pace with him.

"Well, there's nothing to hate, either. You can't say that them being destructive is a reason to hate them," Naruto hastily said as he saw Sasuke move to retort before continuing. "Angels are destructive, as well; we attempted to eradicate the earth before, not to mention the duels we have. Besides, the humans are just like us – they have families, friends, and lovers. They have emotions that make them capable of feeling happiness, sadness, and loneliness."

Sasuke continued walking, unable to reply.

**~0~**

"**H**ey, Sasuke! I think I found something that might work for us!" Naruto said excitedly, waving the said angel over. "We can eat here, too!" he added. Once his partner reached him, he pointed to a flyer on a window outside a humble looking restaurant.

_Help Wanted_

_Waiter, Busboy, and Assistant_

_Free Meals and Housing_

_No Experience Needed_

_Must be hardworking and Diligent_

Sasuke grumbled about being unable to cook their lunch as they entered the restaurant which looked cozy despite the outside appearance and sat down at the bar where a chubby man greeted them.

"Hey, fellows, never seen you around here before. Welcome to _Ichiraku_. My name's Chouji, owner of this shack. How many I help you?"

Naruto smiled at the man before looking down at the menu. His eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "Wow, there are so many varieties of ramen here!" The man – Chouji – chuckled at the young man's enthusiasm.

"Although it's a homely restaurant, ramen just happens to be my specialty." Sasuke grimaced; ramen wasn't exactly his most favorite of meals.

"Well, I'll have a _miso kurobuta ramen_, please!" Naruto said eagerly, before handing a menu to the other angel. Sasuke's eyes quickly scanned the contents of the menu before handing it over to the owner.

"An _omurice_ for me, please," he said quietly. The two sat in comfortable silence as the chatter of the few customers in the restaurant filled the background before Naruto's meal came up.

"One miso-flavored black pork _ramen_ for the blond foreigner!" Naruto grabbed the chopsticks in the cup and divided them, quickly paid his respects, and dove into the meal. "Ish derishous!" he said, mouth full of sodium-filled noodles. Sasuke's eyes twitched.

"Oi, that's gross. Don't talk with your mouth full." The blond quickly swallowed, repeating what he said. "It's delicious! Chouji-san, your food is really heart-warming!" The man merely smiled before handing over Sasuke's meal, fried rice wrapped neatly in an omelet decorated with ketchup, who quietly ate before nodding in agreement.

"Your ingredients are fresh. I'm impressed." The duo continued to eat and Naruto emptied his bowl, giving a satisfied belch (much to his partner's displeasure) and went straight to the point.

"Chouji-san, may I ask you about your flyer?" The man turned to them while washing the dishes and laughed heartily.

"Oh, that thing? It's been up for a while. Ever since my old man passed, I've been working myself and I need all the help I can get. Although the pay isn't much, the room and free meals make up for it. But I haven't had anyone come to ask about it," he said, a sad look crossing his happy features. "This store meant everything to my pops and I want to live out his dream, ever since mom died early."

Naruto looked at Sasuke before turning back to Chouji. "We are actually interested in working for you! We've recently relocated to Tokyo and didn't have a place to stay, so your flyer was an amazing break for us! And Sasuke is a great cook so he can help you out while I take the tables, isn't that right Sasuke?" He elbowed the said angel, who glared at him in response, nursing his side.

"Yeah…"

"That's great! If you'd like, you can move in today and start working by tomorrow night, if it's no problem for you? Usually I'd ask for some personal information, but you guys seem like good kids to me!" Naruto gave a little smile at Sasuke before turning back to the owner.

"We won't cause any trouble, promise! We will be like perfect little angels."

**~0~**

**I**t had been a week since their first jump to Earth and Naruto never felt more exhilarated than he did at that point in his life. He had gotten use to working for Chouji, albeit getting heavily addicted to his ramen, much to the dismay of his partner. It was fun associating with the humans. They had so many stories to tell all in one day, whether it was a couple who came in through the doors, a lone businessman who was getting a quick meal before the last train home or coworkers who decided to make the restaurant their designation for an _omiai _– a group meeting for dating purposes. According to Chouji, this had been the liveliest his restaurant has ever been all thanks to the suggestions of Sasuke.

All the old furniture was exchanged with newer, more comfortable seats and tables and the interior had been painted a soft earthly copper color which relaxed the moods of the customers. The lighting was updated to similar styles, but with energy-conserving fluorescent bulbs. The exterior of the shop was repainted and remodeled to look simple and humble, while still attracting the attention of potential customers due to its simplistic and quaint nature.

Chouji was at first was against all these major adjustments, stating that he had no money for any of it. However, Sasuke had pulled out his funds from who-knows-where and supplied the man with all he needed. The owner consented, later agreeing that it was for the best and although it took a bit to get use to, the kitchen had remained the same for him and he was enjoying the fact that his dad's beloved restaurant was finally getting the recognition it deserved.

Blue eyes looked up at the passing clouds with groceries in hand and he gave a big yawn. Ever since _Ichiraku _became immensely popular, Chouji had hired a few more hands who were teenagers just looking for pocket change. Sasuke had become an assistant in the kitchen as Chouji could no longer hold his own, and Naruto became the manager, no longer constantly needing to make an appearance at the eatery. Despite this, he still made frequent appearances, enjoying in conversing with the humans and listening to those who would seek his company and speak to him about their daily lives. He looked at the children running in the street in the small neighborhood and smiled; Tokyo was an ever-growing city. In the week he had been here, he had seen many buildings finish construction and new ones be built. He was fascinated at the progress these Earthians made in their daily lives.

He was passing by a new construction zone near the restaurant when he heard a loud crash and a pained moan follow. Alarmed, Naruto ran to the source of the noise, dropping his groceries to the ground when he saw a wounded man lying on the floor, grabbing his head. He chose to ignore the odd attire the man had on, deeming that a green jumpsuit and orange leggings were _not _normal for a construction worker and gently shook the stranger.

"Excuse me…Are you alright?" he asked uncertainly, looking up at the frame of the building – a condo, he assumed – and concluded that the man must've fallen from walking on the frames carelessly.

"Yes! Forgive me for interrupting your energy-filled day with my clumsiness!" the man exclaimed so suddenly that it startled the blond. Large round eyes looked into deep blue and Naruto slightly twitched at the sight of the thick eyebrows.

This human was _strange_.

"Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself! My name is Rock Lee from Hangzhou, China! To pursue my youthful dreams and assist my teacher in constructing the best buildings in the world, we have traveled to Tokyo to help build this city! And what is your name, stranger? Surely you must be here to accomplish your wonderful, youthful dreams, as well?" he asked enthusiastically. Naruto couldn't help but smile awkwardly at the energy that was radiating off of this man, Lee.

"I'm Naruto and I'm just traveling with a friend, observing the scenery." He grinned, inwardly thinking that it wasn't a complete lie. It just wasn't the whole truth either.

His hand was pulled from him abruptly as Lee shook it vigorously. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Naruto-san! Oh, is it alright if I address you by your first name, since you did not tell me your surname?" Naruto nodded, mentally hitting himself for not thinking about surnames. Unlike humans, angels didn't have surnames, usually picking one up for cover or taking their parents (adopted or biological) cover-surnames. He would have to talk to Sasuke about that later.

"Naruto is fine, Lee. Anyway, are you okay? What happened?" He watched the China man smile sheepishly, standing up and patting the dust off his jumpsuit. Naruto shuddered inwardly; how any man would wear that was beyond him.

"Ah, forgive me for interrupting your daily routine!" he repeated. "I was actually walking to get my teacher, Gai-sensei, from the resting trailer to call it a day when I shamefully walked into this frame-pole," he said, pointing at a frame pipe that was hanging few feet off the ground by a crane. The careless result of a lazy construction worker, no doubt.

The man suddenly doubled over, burying his face in his hands, alarming Naruto once again. "Oh, how shameful and uncouth it is for a stranger to see me not paying attention! In this, I have also shamed my teacher!"

Naruto listened to his shrieks, patting the man gently on the back, not knowing what to do. Before he had a chance to give Lee words of comfort, a loud smack of the nearby trailer-door being opened startled him and he unconsciously wondered how many surprises were in store for him today.

"What's this unseemly energy I am sensing here, Lee? How shameful it is to cry about your failures when you still have your entire youth ahead of you!" Naruto cringed as an older man, donning the same bowl-cut, thick eyebrows, and green jumpsuit as Lee appeared from the trailer. This must be the teacher that he was talking about and Naruto wondered if there were any more strange humans that he had yet to meet. For his sanity, he hoped that the others dressed a little more…appropriately.

"Sensei!"

Yup, this was Gai-sensei alright.

"Lee!"

"Sensei! Forgive me for my lackluster energy when I should be radiating my youthful energy to all strangers I meet!"

"Lee!"

"Sensei!"

And Naruto took a step back as the two crossed the distance to embrace, tears flowing like waterfalls from their eyes. He could've sworn that there was a sunset with crashing waves in the background and blinked, only to see the construction site again. He decided that he wasted enough time and needed to get the groceries back before Sasuke got angry at him, like usual.

"Well, it's been, er, _interesting_ meeting you, Lee," Naruto fumbled, trying to look for the right words. "I work at _Ichiraku_, which is only a few houses down from here if you want to come to eat." And before he could turn to be on his way, a voice stopped him.

"Naruto-san, it has been an honour meeting you and I thank you for your invitation! I will not let your kindness go to waste!" Naruto nodded half heartedly, before making his way to the store where, indeed, an angry Sasuke stood, scolding Naruto. According to him, by not getting the groceries on time, they would eat a late dinner, thus resulting in a fat Naruto. The blond merely stuck his tongue out at his partner and headed up the stairs, the other following behind him, ranting at his idiocy.

As he plopped onto his bed, Naruto deemed that it was a great first week on Earth and that the rest of his stay would be even better.

**-Chapter o1 ~ Year One; Foundation : End-**

_**Written - 01.03.2011 :: Uploaded 16.05.2011  
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**Chibi Chidori's Nonsense:**_**  
><strong>_This has been sitting on my hard drive for a while and I wasn't going to upload it until later, but I really wanted a release on my birthday (today) and none of my other works were done. I'm also graduating university today, so double celebrations for me.

Thank you for reading and reviews are greatly appreciated!


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